[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2753 Reported in Senate (RS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 561
107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2753

                          [Report No. 107-251]

    To provide for a Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman for 
    Procurement in the Small Business Administration, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 18, 2002

   Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. Bond, Mr. Cleland, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
  Bingaman, Mrs. Carnahan, and Ms. Landrieu) introduced the following 
   bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small 
                     Business and Entrepreneurship

                           September 3, 2002

 Reported by Mr. Kerry, with an amendment and an amendment to the title
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for a Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman for 
    Procurement in the Small Business Administration, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Small and Disadvantaged 
Business Ombudsman Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. SBA SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN FOR 
              PROCUREMENT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 30 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657) is 
amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in subsection (a)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking 
                ``and'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the 
                period and adding a semicolon; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) by adding at the end the 
                following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) `SDB Ombudsman' means the Small and 
        Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman for Procurement, designated 
        under subsection (e); and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) `Major Federal agency' means an agency of 
        the United States Government that, in the previous fiscal year, 
        entered into contracts with non-Federal entities to provide the 
        agency with a total of not less than $200,000,000 in goods or 
        services.''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(e) SBA Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman for 
Procurement.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Appointment.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days 
                after the date of enactment of the Small and 
                Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman Act, the Administrator 
                shall designate a Small and Disadvantaged Business 
                Ombudsman for Procurement (referred to in this section 
                as the `SDB Ombudsman').</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Qualifications.--The SDB Ombudsman 
                shall be--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) highly qualified, with 
                        experience assisting small business concerns 
                        with Federal procurement; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) designated from among 
                        employees of the Federal Government, to the 
                        extent practicable.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Line of authority.--The SDB 
                Ombudsman shall report directly to the 
                Administrator.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) Senior executive service.--The SDB 
                Ombudsman shall be paid at an annual rate not less than 
                the minimum rate, nor more than the maximum rate, for 
                the Senior Executive Service under chapter 53 of title 
                5, United States Code.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Duties.--The SDB Ombudsman shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) work with each Federal agency with 
                procurement authority to ensure that small business 
                concerns are treated fairly in the procurement 
                process;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) establish a procedure for receiving 
                comments from small business concerns and personnel of 
                the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business 
                Utilization of each Federal agency regarding the 
                activities of agencies and prime contractors that are 
                not small business concerns on Federal procurement 
                contracts; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) establish a procedure for addressing 
                the concerns received under subparagraph (B).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Annual report.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--No later than 1 year 
                after the date of enactment of this subsection, and 
                annually thereafter, the SDB Ombudsman shall provide a 
                report to the Committee on Small Business of the House 
                of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business 
                and Entrepreneurship of the Senate.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Contents.--The report required under 
                subparagraph (A) shall contain--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) information from the Federal 
                        Procurement Data System pertaining to 
                        contracting and subcontracting goals of the 
                        Federal Government and each Federal agency with 
                        procurement authority;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) a copy of the report 
                        submitted to the SDB Ombudsman by each major 
                        Federal agency and an evaluation of the goal 
                        attainment plans submitted to the SDB Ombudsman 
                        pursuant to paragraph (5);</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) an evaluation of the 
                        success or failure of each major Federal agency 
                        in attaining its small business procurement 
                        goals, including a ranking by agency on the 
                        attainment of such goals;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) a summary of the efforts of 
                        each major Federal agency to promote 
                        contracting opportunities for small business 
                        concerns by--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) educating and 
                                training procurement officers on the 
                                importance of small business concerns 
                                to the economy and to Federal 
                                contracting; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) conducting outreach 
                                initiatives to promote prime and 
                                subcontracting opportunities for small 
                                business concerns;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(v) an assessment of the 
                        knowledge of the procurement staff of each 
                        major Federal agency concerning programs that 
                        promote small business contracting;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(vi) substantiated comments 
                        received from small business concerns and 
                        personnel of the Office of Small and 
                        Disadvantaged Business Utilization of each 
                        Federal agency regarding the treatment of small 
                        business concerns by Federal agencies on 
                        Federal procurement contracts;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(vii) an analysis of the 
                        responsiveness of each Federal agency to small 
                        business concerns with respect to Federal 
                        contracting and subcontracting;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(viii) an assessment of the 
                        compliance of each Federal agency with section 
                        15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
                        644(k); and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ix) a description of any 
                        discrimination faced by small business concerns 
                        based on their status as small business 
                        concerns or the gender or the social or 
                        economic status of their owners.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Notice and comment.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) In general.--The SDB 
                        Ombudsman shall provide notice to each Federal 
                        agency identified in the report prepared under 
                        subparagraph (A) that such agency has 60 days 
                        to submit comments on the draft report to the 
                        SDB Ombudsman before the final report is 
                        submitted to Congress under subparagraph 
                        (A).</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Inclusion of outside 
                        comments.--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) In general.--The 
                                final report prepared under this 
                                paragraph shall contain a section in 
                                which Federal agencies are given an 
                                opportunity to respond to the report 
                                contents with which they 
                                disagree.</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) No response.--If no 
                                response is received during the 60-day 
                                comment period from a particular agency 
                                identified in the report, the final 
                                report under this paragraph shall 
                                indicate that the agency was afforded 
                                an opportunity to comment.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) Confidentiality.--In preparing the 
                report under this paragraph, the SDB Ombudsman shall 
                keep confidential all information that may expose a 
                small business concern or an employee of an Office of 
                Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to 
                possible retaliation from the agency or prime 
                contractor identified by the small business concern, 
                unless the small business concern or employee of the 
                Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 
                consents in writing to the release of such 
                information.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Interagency coordination.--Each Federal 
        agency, through its Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business 
        Utilization, shall assist the SDB Ombudsman to ensure 
        compliance with--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the Federal procurement goals 
                established pursuant to section 15(g);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) the procurement policy outlined in 
                section 8(d), which states that small business concerns 
                should be given the maximum practicable opportunity to 
                participate in Federal contracts;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Federal prime contractors small 
                business subcontracting plans negotiated under section 
                8(d)(4)(B);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) the responsibilities outlined under 
                section 15(k); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) any other provision of this 
                Act.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Goal attainment plan.--If a major Federal 
        agency fails to meet any small business procurement goal under 
        this Act in any fiscal year, such agency shall submit a goal 
        attainment plan to the SDB Ombudsman not later than 90 days 
        after the end of the fiscal year in which the goal was not met, 
        containing--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) a description of the circumstances 
                that contributed to the failure of the agency to reach 
                its small business procurement goals; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) a detailed plan for meeting the 
                small business procurement goals in the fiscal year 
                immediately following the fiscal year in which the goal 
                was not met.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) Effect on other offices.--Nothing in this 
        section is intended to replace or diminish the activities of 
        the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization or 
        any similar office in any Federal agency.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(7) Administrative resources.--To enable the SDB 
        Ombudsman to carry out the duties required by this subsection, 
        the Administrator shall provide the SDB Ombudsman with 
        sufficient--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) personnel;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) office space; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) dedicated financial resources, which 
                are specifically identified in the annual budget 
                request of the Administration.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. OFFICE OF SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS 
              UTILIZATION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Director.--Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 644(k)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ``(except 
        for the Administration)'' after ``Federal agency'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by striking paragraph (2), and inserting the 
        following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) be well qualified, with experience assisting 
        small business concerns with Federal procurement, and receive 
        basic pay at a rate not to exceed the rate of pay for grade 15 
        of the General Schedule, under section 5332 of title 5, United 
        States Code;'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
        following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) be appointed by the head of such agency, be 
        responsible to, and report only to, the head or deputy head of 
        such agency for policy matters, personnel matters, budgetary 
        matters, and all other matters;'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) in paragraph (9), by striking ``, and'' and 
        inserting a semicolon;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) in paragraph (10)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) by striking ``or section 8(a) of this 
                Act or section 2323 of title 10, United States Code. 
                Such recommendations'' and inserting ``section 8(a), or 
                section 2323 of title 10, United States Code, which 
                recommendations''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) by striking the period at the end and 
                inserting a semicolon; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) by striking the undesignated matter after 
        paragraph (10) and inserting the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(11) not concurrently serve as the chief 
        procurement officer for such agency; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(12) if the officer is employed by a major 
        Federal agency (as defined in section 30)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) have no other job duties beyond 
                those described under this subsection;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) receive basic pay at a rate equal to 
                the rate of pay for grade 15 of the General Schedule, 
                under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) attend the meetings of the Office of 
                Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 
                Council.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 
Council.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Establishment.--There is established an 
        interagency council to be known as the ``Office of Small and 
        Disadvantaged Business Utilization Council'' (in this 
        subsection referred to as the ``Council'').</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Membership.--The Council shall be composed 
        of--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Director of Small and 
                Disadvantaged Business Utilization from each Federal 
                agency;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Small and Disadvantaged Business 
                Ombudsman for Procurement, as an ex officio member; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) other individuals, as ex officio 
                members, as the Council considers necessary.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Leadership.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Chairperson.--The members of the 
                Council shall elect a chairperson, who shall serve for 
                a 1-year, renewable term.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Other positions.--The members of the 
                Council may elect other leadership positions, as 
                necessary, from among its members.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Voting.--Each member of the Council, 
                except for ex officio members, shall have voting rights 
                on the Council.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Meetings.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Frequency.--The Council shall meet not 
                less frequently than once every 2 months.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Issues.--At the meetings under 
                subparagraph (A), the Council shall discuss issues 
                faced by each Office of Small and Disadvantaged 
                Business Utilization, including--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) personnel matters;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) barriers to small business 
                        participation in Federal procurement;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) agency compliance with 
                        section 15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 
                        U.S.C. 644(k)), as amended by this Act; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) any other matter that the 
                        Council considers necessary to further the 
                        mission of each Office of Small and 
                        Disadvantaged Business Utilization.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Funding limitation.--The Small Business 
        Administration shall not provide the Council with financial 
        assistance to carry out the provisions of this 
        section.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. GOVERNMENTWIDE SMALL BUSINESS GOAL.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 15(g)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
644(g)(1)) is amended in the second sentence, by striking ``23 percent 
of the total value of all prime con tract awards for each fiscal 
year.'' and inserting ``26 percent of the total value of all prime 
contract awards for fiscal year 2004, not less than 28 percent of the 
total value of all prime contract awards for fiscal year 2005, and not 
less than 30 percent of the total value of all prime contract awards 
for fiscal year 2006 and each fiscal year thereafter.''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Procurement Ombudsman 
Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT OMBUDSMAN.

    Section 15 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(q) Small Business Procurement Ombudsman.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following 
        definitions shall apply:
                    ``(A) Chief counsel for advocacy.--The term `Chief 
                Counsel for Advocacy' means the chief counsel in the 
                Office of Advocacy of the Administration.
                    ``(B) Major federal agency.--The term `major 
                Federal agency' means an agency of the United States 
                Government that, in the previous fiscal year, entered 
                into contracts with non-Federal entities to provide the 
                agency with a total of not less than $200,000,000 in 
                goods or services.
                    ``(C) Procurement ombudsman.--The term `Procurement 
                Ombudsman' means the Small Business Procurement 
                Ombudsman, designated under paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Appointment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date of enactment of the Small Business Procurement 
                Ombudsman Act of 2002, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy 
                shall designate a Small Business Procurement Ombudsman 
                (referred to in this subsection as the `Procurement 
                Ombudsman').
                    ``(B) Qualifications.--The Procurement Ombudsman 
                shall be--
                            ``(i) highly qualified, with experience 
                        assisting small business concerns with Federal 
                        procurement; and
                            ``(ii) designated from among employees of 
                        the Federal Government, to the extent 
                        practicable.
                    ``(C) Line of authority.--The Procurement Ombudsman 
                shall report directly to the Chief Counsel for 
                Advocacy.
                    ``(D) Senior executive service.--The Procurement 
                Ombudsman shall be paid at an annual rate not less than 
                the minimum rate, nor more than the maximum rate, for 
                the Senior Executive Service under chapter 53 of title 
                5, United States Code.
            ``(3) Duties.--The Procurement Ombudsman shall--
                    ``(A) work with each Federal agency with 
                procurement authority to ensure that small business 
                concerns are treated fairly in the procurement process 
                by establishing a procedure for receiving, and keeping 
                confidential, comments from small business concerns and 
                personnel of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged 
                Business Utilization of each Federal agency regarding 
                the activities of agencies and prime contractors, that 
                are not small business concerns, on Federal contracts;
                    ``(B) establish a procedure for addressing the 
                concerns received under subparagraph (A);
                    ``(C) complete and submit the annual report 
                required under paragraph (4); and
                    ``(D) have no other significant job duties other 
                than those described under this subsection.
            ``(4) Annual report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of enactment of this subsection, and not later 
                than the last day of the first full week of March in 
                subsequent years, the Procurement Ombudsman shall 
                provide a report to the Committee on Small Business of 
                the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small 
                Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate.
                    ``(B) Contents.--The report required under 
                subparagraph (A) shall contain--
                            ``(i) information from the Federal 
                        Procurement Data System pertaining to 
                        contracting and subcontracting goals of the 
                        Federal Government and each Federal agency with 
                        procurement authority;
                            ``(ii) the goal attainment plan required 
                        under section 4(a) of the Small Business 
                        Procurement Ombudsman Act of 2002 and an 
                        evaluation of that plan;
                            ``(iii) an evaluation of the success or 
                        failure of each major Federal agency in 
                        attaining its small business procurement goals, 
                        including an overall score for each agency on 
                        the attainment of such goals;
                            ``(iv) a summary of the efforts of each 
                        major Federal agency to promote contracting 
                        opportunities for small business concerns by--
                                    ``(I) educating and training 
                                contracting officers on the importance 
                                of small business concerns to the 
                                economy and to Federal contracting; and
                                    ``(II) conducting outreach 
                                initiatives to promote prime and 
                                subcontracting opportunities for small 
                                business concerns;
                            ``(v) an assessment of the knowledge of the 
                        procurement staff of each major Federal agency 
                        concerning programs that promote small business 
                        contracting and the efficacy of acquisition 
                        training programs (whether conducted 
                        electronically or in person) in enhancing that 
                        knowledge;
                            ``(vi) conclusions and recommendations 
                        based upon substantiated comments received from 
                        small business concerns and personnel of the 
                        Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business 
                        Utilization of each Federal agency regarding 
                        the treatment of small business concerns by 
Federal agencies on Federal contracts;
                            ``(vii) an analysis of the responsiveness 
                        of each Federal agency to small business 
                        concerns with respect to Federal contracting 
                        and subcontracting;
                            ``(viii) an assessment of the compliance of 
                        each Federal agency with subsection (k); and
                            ``(ix) a description of any discrimination 
                        faced by small business concerns based on their 
                        status as small business concerns, qualified 
                        HUBZone small business concerns, small business 
                        concerns owned and controlled by disabled 
                        veterans, or the gender or the social or 
                        economic status of their owners.
                    ``(C) Notice and comment.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Procurement 
                        Ombudsman shall provide notice to each Federal 
                        agency identified in the report prepared under 
                        subparagraph (A) that such agency has 60 days 
                        to submit comments on the draft report to the 
                        Procurement Ombudsman before the final report 
                        is submitted to Congress under subparagraph 
                        (A).
                            ``(ii) Inclusion of outside comments.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--The final report 
                                prepared under this paragraph shall 
                                contain a section in which Federal 
                                agencies are given an opportunity to 
                                respond to the report contents with 
                                which they disagree.
                                    ``(II) No response.--If no response 
                                is received during the 60-day comment 
                                period from a particular agency 
                                identified in the report, the final 
                                report under this paragraph shall 
                                indicate that the agency was afforded 
                                an opportunity to comment.
                    ``(D) Confidentiality.--In preparing the report 
                under this paragraph and carrying out the duties under 
                paragraph (3), the Procurement Ombudsman shall keep 
                confidential all information that may expose a small 
                business concern or an employee of an Office of Small 
                and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to possible 
                retaliation from the agency or prime contractor 
                identified by the small business concern, unless the 
                small business concern or employee of the Office of 
                Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization consents 
                in writing to the release of such information.
            ``(5) Effect on other offices.--Nothing in this subsection 
        is intended to replace or diminish the activities of the Office 
        of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization or any similar 
        office in any Federal agency.
            ``(6) Administrative resources.--To enable the Procurement 
        Ombudsman to carry out the duties required under this 
        subsection, the Administrator shall provide the Procurement 
        Ombudsman with sufficient--
                    ``(A) personnel;
                    ``(B) office space; and
                    ``(C) dedicated financial resources, which shall be 
                specifically identified in the annual budget request of 
                the Administration.''.

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS UTILIZATION.

    Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)) is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(k) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--There is hereby established in each 
        Federal agency (except for the Administration) having 
        procurement powers an office to be known as the `Office of 
        Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization'. The management 
        of each such office shall be vested in an officer or employee 
        of such agency who shall--
                    ``(A) be known as the `Director of Small and 
                Disadvantaged Business Utilization' for such agency;
                    ``(B) be well qualified, with experience assisting 
                small business concerns with Federal procurement, and 
                receive basic pay at a rate not to exceed the rate of 
                pay for grade 15 of the General Schedule, under section 
                5332 of title 5, United States Code;
                    ``(C) be appointed by the head of such agency, be 
                responsible to, and report only to, the head or deputy 
                head of such agency for policy matters, personnel 
                matters, budgetary matters, and all other matters;
                    ``(D) be responsible for the implementation and 
                execution of the functions and duties under sections 8 
and 15 and all small business procurement programs under this Act, 
which relate to such agency, and cooperate and consult on a regular 
basis with the Administration with respect to carrying out such 
functions and duties;
                    ``(E) identify proposed solicitations that involve 
                significant bundling of contract requirements, and work 
                with the agency acquisition officials and the 
                Administration to revise the procurement strategies for 
                such proposed solicitations where appropriate to 
                increase the probability of participation by small 
                businesses as prime contractors, or to facilitate small 
                business participation as subcontractors and suppliers, 
                if a solicitation for a bundled contract is to be 
                issued;
                    ``(F) assist small business concerns to obtain 
                payments, required late payment interest penalties, or 
                information regarding payments due to such concerns 
                from an executive agency or a contractor, in conformity 
                with chapter 39 of title 31, United States Code, or any 
                other protection for contractors or subcontractors 
                (including suppliers) that is included in the Federal 
                Acquisition Regulation or any individual agency 
                supplement to such Government-wide regulation;
                    ``(G) have supervisory authority over personnel of 
                such agency to the extent that the functions and duties 
                of such personnel relate to functions and duties under 
                sections 8 and 15 and all small business procurement 
                programs under this Act;
                    ``(H) assign a small business technical adviser to 
                each office to which the Administration has assigned a 
                procurement center representative--
                            ``(i) who shall be a full-time employee of 
                        the procuring activity and shall be well 
                        qualified, technically trained and familiar 
                        with the supplies or services purchased at the 
                        activity; and
                            ``(ii) whose principal duty shall be to 
                        assist the Administration procurement center 
                        representative in his duties and functions 
                        relating to sections 8 and 15 and all small 
                        business procurement programs under this Act;
                    ``(I) assist the Procurement Ombudsman with the 
                duties assigned to the Procurement Ombudsman under 
                subsection (q)(3);
                    ``(J) make recommendations to contracting officers 
                as to whether a particular contract requirement should 
                be awarded pursuant to subsection (a), section 8(a), or 
                section 2323 of title 10, United States Code, which 
                recommendations shall be made with due regard to the 
                requirements of subsection (m), and the failure of the 
                contracting officer to accept any such recommendations 
                shall be documented and included within the appropriate 
                contract file;
                    ``(K) not concurrently serve as the senior 
                procurement executive for such agency; and
                    ``(L) if the officer is employed by a major Federal 
                agency--
                            ``(i) have no other significant job duties 
                        beyond those described under this subsection;
                            ``(ii) receive basic pay at a rate not less 
                        than the rate of pay for grade 15 of the 
                        General Schedule, under section 5332 of title 
                        5, United States Code; and
                            ``(iii) attend, to the maximum practical 
                        extent, the meetings of the Office of Small and 
                        Disadvantaged Business Utilization Council.
            ``(2) Office of small and disadvantaged business 
        utilization council.--
                    ``(A) Establishment.--There is established an 
                interagency council to be known as the `Office of Small 
                and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Council' (in 
                this subsection referred to as the `Council').
                    ``(B) Membership.--The Council shall be composed 
                of--
                            ``(i) the Director of Small and 
                        Disadvantaged Business Utilization from each 
                        Federal agency;
                            ``(ii) the Small Business Procurement 
                        Ombudsman, as an ex officio member;
                            ``(iii) the Associate Deputy Administrator 
                        for Government Contracting and Business 
                        Development of the Administration, as an ex 
                        officio member; and
                            ``(iv) other individuals, as ex officio 
                        members, as the Council considers necessary.
                    ``(C) Leadership.--
                            ``(i) Chairperson.--The members of the 
                        Council shall elect a chairperson, who shall 
                        serve for a 1-year, renewable term.
                            ``(ii) Other positions.--The members of the 
                        Council may elect other leadership positions, 
                        as necessary, from among its members.
                    ``(D) Voting.--Each member of the Council, except 
                for ex officio members, shall have voting rights on the 
                Council.
                    ``(E) Meetings.--
                            ``(i) Frequency.--The Council shall meet 
                        not less frequently than once every 2 months.
                            ``(ii) Issues.--At the meetings under 
                        clause (i), the Council shall discuss issues 
                        faced by each Office of Small and Disadvantaged 
                        Business Utilization, including--
                                    ``(I) personnel matters;
                                    ``(II) barriers to small business 
                                participation in Federal procurement;
                                    ``(III) agency compliance with this 
                                subsection; and
                                    ``(IV) any other matter that the 
                                Council considers necessary to further 
                                the mission of each Office of Small and 
                                Disadvantaged Business Utilization.
                    ``(F) Funding limitation.--The Small Business 
                Administration shall not provide the Council with 
                financial assistance to carry out the provisions of 
                this subsection.''.

SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT GOALS.

    (a) Goal Attainment Plan.--Section 15(g) of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 644(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) If a major Federal agency fails to meet any small 
        business procurement goal under this subsection in any fiscal 
        year, such agency shall submit a goal attainment plan to the 
        Administration not later than 90 days after the end of the 
        fiscal year in which the goal was not met, containing--
                    ``(A) a description of the circumstances that 
                contributed to the failure of the agency to reach its 
                small business procurement goals; and
                    ``(B) a detailed plan for meeting the small 
                business procurement goals in the fiscal year 
                immediately following the fiscal year in which the goal 
                was not met.''.
    (b) Governmentwide Small Business Goal.--Section 15(g)(1) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(1)) is amended, in the second 
sentence, by striking ``23 percent of the total value of all prime 
contract awards for each fiscal year.'' and inserting ``26 percent of 
the total value of all prime contract awards for fiscal year 2004, not 
less than 28 percent of the total value of all prime contract awards 
for fiscal year 2005, and not less than 30 percent of the total value 
of all prime contract awards for fiscal year 2006 and each fiscal year 
thereafter.''.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to provide for a 
        Small Business Procurement Ombudsman in the Office of Advocacy 
        of the Small Business Administration, to strengthen the Office 
        of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at each Federal 
        agency, and for other purposes.''.




                                                       Calendar No. 561

107th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2753

                          [Report No. 107-251]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

    To provide for a Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman for 
    Procurement in the Small Business Administration, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 3, 2002

        Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the title